On the 2nd October there was a great flood in Kilkenny. At the time this was perceived as the worst flood the city had ever experienced. The two bridges over the river Nore, John's Bridge and Greensbridge were swept away. At that time the city was divided into two boroughs - Irishtown and Englishtown - separated from each other by the Nore tributary, the river Breagagh. On this occasion both rivers flooded causing extensive damage to goods, buildings and ruining livelihoods. The Old Kilkenny Review (1988) gives many accounts of the destruction.

There was also considerable suffering in other towns such as Thomastown and Castlecomer and the grand total damage to goods/buildings was £1,634. In addition the cost of rebuilding the two city bridges was : £2,789 (John's) and £2,828 (Greensbridge). Undoubtedly large sums of money at the time.

It would seem this flood was very much on a par with the flood of 1947. However from a meteorological point of view the origin of this flood was quite different. The 1947 flood was mostly attributed to a rapid snow melt, whereas this flood took place in early October due to torrential rains.